“I appreciate your thoughtfulness, Thalia, but I would return to my room now, and you should do the same.” Kalus’s tone was final, brooking no argument.
Thalia’s face hardened. “Alpha, you seem to have forgotten that you we me a lot. We made a deal, and I’ve done my own part.”
“I haven’t forgotten, Thalia,” Kaius replied, his voice low and dangers. But neither have you forgotten your place.”
Thalia’s eyes narrowed, but she bowed her head in reluctant acquiescence. As we turned to leave, she couldn’t resist one parting shot. “Shocking that you aren’t his true mate.”
Those words were aimed at me, and they hurt, even though I’d just en undeniable proof Kaius only wanted me. We walked in silence back to the chambers that had been prepared for us, my mind a whirlwind of questions and conflicting emotions.
Once inside, with the door firmly closed behind us, Kaius turned to me. “I’m sorry you had to see that.”
“It is fine, I kind of expected it; you are a king now and…” I trailed off, not sure how to express the hurt and insecurity I felt.
“Don’t Elowen, the title doesn’t change who I am. I am still Kaius.” He approached me slowly, as if afraid I might bolt.
“Back there… I thought you were going to change your mind about me.” The confession slipped out before I could stop it.
“You did, didn’t you?” His voice was gentle, understanding.
“Yes. I was back to that same moment when Dorian announced another woman as his mate.” The memory still had the power to hurt, though not as sharply as before.
“Elowen you are the one I want, and do you want to know why?” Kaius took my hands in his, his amber eyes intent on mine.
“Yes.” I needed to hear it, needed the reassurance after everything that had happened.
“Because all my life, there was never a person that penetrated into me like you did Elowen; you made me feel things that I had never felt before and it started when I saw your pic. I am not perfect but you never once stop caring. I can’t stop thinking about you, and I discovered that I want you, all to myself. I love you, Elowen, and I am sorry it took me this long to discover that.”
The words washed over me like a healing balm, soothing the raw edges of my insecurity. He loved me. Not because fate decreed it, not because I was useful to his plans, but because I had somehow touched something deep within him, just as he had touched me.
I stood frozen, unable to formulate a response. My silence must have concerned him, because something vulnerable flickered across his typically guarded features.
“Say something,” he urged.
“You love me,” I repeated, testing the words, feeling their weight on my tongue. “Not because you need me for the crown. Not because I’m useful to your plans.”
“No,” he confirmed, taking a step closer. “Because you are stubborn, and brave, and infuriating. Because you challenge me when others wouldn’t dare. Because when I look at you, I see someone who has faced as much darkness as I have but still manages to find light.”
Tears blurred my vision, but I made no move to wipe them away. “But I’m not your fated mate.”
And yet you are more my mate than any bond the moon goddess might have chosen for me.” His hand cupped my cheek, thumb brushing away a tear that had escaped. “Fated or chosen, you are mine, Elowen. And I am yours.”
1/2
Chapter 121.
“I love
us
you together.
I whispered, too,”
and the
words
felt
right,
felt
true
in a
Why
that
transcended
whatever
magic
might
or
might not
bind
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